View full sizeMichelle Gabel / The Post-StandardTwo people died in this crash on Route 5 in Elbridge last summer. The town is asking the state DOT to consider lowering the speed limit on Route 5 East, where there have been more frequent accidents and a growth in development.

Elbridge, NY - Elbridge town board members are asking the state Department of Transportation to lower the speed limit on two sections of Route 5.

The town is asking the DOT to reduce the speed limit to 35 mph on Route 5 East, from the village of Elbridge line to Sunview Drive. The speed limit is currently 45 mph from the village line to Rolling Hills Mobile Home Park, and 55 mph from Rolling Hills Mobile Home Park east towards Camillus.

The town also wants the state to lower the speed limit from Sunview Drive to Champion Mobile Home Park from 55 mph to 45 mph.

"As people come from Camillus, we need them to start to slow down," Supervisor Ken Bush Jr. said.

A town resident, Roger Tumber, of Sunview Drive, asked the Elbridge Town Board to request that the state lower the speed limit in that section of Route 5, Bush said. Town board members voted unanimously Feb. 24 to authorize the supervisor to send a letter to the state DOT to request the speed limit reductions.

"We want it reduced, starting at Champion Mobile Home Park, because of the growth of businesses, plus the number of accidents that have occurred," Bush said.

Last month, a driver on Route 5 swerved to avoid hitting a car pulling out of the Dollar General Store, and instead crashed into a utility pole. The pole with three transformers on top, landed on the car. The driver was not hurt.

"You've got to slow these cars down," Bush said. "If it's 45, people are going 50. Really, the area needs to be recognized as much more developed now."

The state DOT also has reviewed another traffic concern town have officials have brought to their attention because of a history of accidents on Route 5. The letter, dated Feb. 25, focuses on Route 5 at Hamilton Road, and Route 5 at East Brutus Street (Old Route 31B).

In the letter, DOT officials said their traffic engineers completed a highway safety investigation and determined left turn lanes are needed along Route 5 West at the intersection of Hamilton Road.

"Placement of opposing left turn lanes operating under protected/permissive phasing would eliminate the occurrence of vehicles passing on the shoulder around stopped vehicles and would provide greater opportunity for vehicles to safely perform left turn maneuvers," Regional Director of Transportation Carl F. Ford wrote in his letter to Bush.

As a result of the investigation, the DOT plans to make the improvements to the Route 5-Hamilton Road intersection if funding becomes available, Bush said.

The DOT previously lowered the speed limit on Route 5 west of Hamilton Road, near Tessy Plastics and Millstone Golf Course, from 55 mph to 45 mph. The state also added double yellow lines to create a no passing zone in that area.

The highway safety investigation also found issues at the Route 5-East Brutus Street intersection. The DOT found "skewed alignment and limited available gaps in the approaching Route 5 traffic stream, mainly during peak hours," Ford wrote.

State maintenance crews will restripe the area to better align or "tee up" East Brutus Street with Route 5. That will improve the available turning radius for small trucks and cars, Ford wrote.

The state DOT also plans to add and replace intersection warning signs along Route 5 before East Brutus Street to let drivers know they're approaching the intersection. The DOT also plans to install a flashing red light facing East Brutus Street to add more visibility at the intersection. And DOT crews said they will replace a "Deer Crossing" sign and put it in a location along Route 5 where deer have been frequently spotted and struck by vehicles.

Elbridge town officials expect to learn soon what another DOT study found on whether a traffic signal should be installed at the intersection of Route 5 and Sandbank Road.